The group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, said the girls had converted to Islam and been married off since being taken, the BBC reported. But the Boko Haram leader said the girls were “in their marital homes” after being married off by the group, the BBC reported.

LAGOS, NIGERIA (ANS) — In a video released by Boko Haram, showing its leader Abubakar Shekau delivering a speech on October 31, the group denies the Nigerian Government’s claim they have reached a ceasefire agreement.

The video, released on Friday and a screenshot of which was posted to the BBC website, was Boko Haram’s first statement after the government announced a ceasefire.

Boko Haram denied claims by Nigeria’s government that it has agreed to a ceasefire and would release more than 200 abducted schoolgirls.

The group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, said the girls had converted to Islam and been married off since being taken, the BBC reported.

The BBC earlier reported that Nigeria’s army announced a ceasefire with the militants on October 17, saying the girls would soon be freed.

But the BBC says violence has continued since news of the alleged truce, including a fatal bomb blast on Friday.

Boko Haram has been fighting an insurgency since 2009, with some 2,000 civilians reportedly killed this year, the BBC said.

In the video released on Friday, Abubakar Shekau said: “We have not made ceasefire with anyone. We did not negotiate with anyone. It’s a lie. We will not negotiate. What is our business with negotiati on? Allah said we should not.”

The BBC said Shekau also claimed that the militants were holding a German national, thought to be a teacher, who was kidnapped by gunmen in July.

The BBC said there was no indication of when or where the group’s latest video was shot.

In its analysis, the BBC’s Tomi Oladipo in Lagos says the video will come as a huge embarrassment for the Nigerian government after it said it had secured a ceasefire with Boko Haram.

The BBC added that newspapers with headlines on the Chibok girls and their possible release are displayed at a news stand in Abuja. The October 1, 2014 News of the government announcement supposedly sealing a truce with Boko Haram made the front pages.

The BBC explained that the Islamist militants sparked global outrage in April by abducting 219 schoolgirls from the remote north-eastern town of Chibok, in Borno state. Their continued captivity has led to criticism of the Nigerian government’s efforts to secure their release.

It added that hopes were raise d earlier this month when Nigeria’s chief of defense staff, Alex Badeh, announced a truce with the group.

“They’ve assured us they have the girls and they will release them,” he said. “I am cautiously optimistic.”

But the Boko Haram leader said the girls were “in their marital homes” after being married off by the group, the BBC reported.

The BBC added that last week, Human Rights Watch said in a report that Boko Haram was holding more than 500 women and young girls captive and that forced marriage was common in the group’s camps.

Share See all ASSIST News articles at www.assistnews.net
** Michael Ireland is a volunteer Internet Journalist and licensed minister who has served as Chief Correspondent and Senior International Correspondent for ASSIST News Service ASSIST News Service. since 1998. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China, and Russia. For a digest of ANS stories, log-on to Mike’s Monitor at https://paper.li/Michael_ASSIST/1410023867